Luo Qiao said, "Auntie, if you can help me, I'm too grateful to express. I'll try my best to live well and avoid causing any trouble in our village."
The team leader's wife gave a few instructions and then left; she still had to go to work later and told Luo Qiao to rest for two more days before starting her job, once she had recovered.
Having brought her belongings with her, Luo Qiao had now settled down in Qingshan Village.
What comforted Luo Qiao the most was that there was a well in the educated youth hostel, which saved her the trouble of having to fetch water just for appearances.
Gao Suhua had not slept well the previous night; she thought her sister-in-law was making sense—taking the girl back, nurturing her for a few days and then sending her off to another household could earn them a sum of money.
So, after breakfast on her way to work, she said to Zhao Pulin, "My dear, I think Chunli is right. We should take the girl back home."
Zhao Pulin said, "Don't listen to Chunli's nonsense. We have already signed an agreement in front of the team leaders and the villagers. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
Gao Suhua replied, "What's there to be afraid of? We can just say we felt sorry for the Luo Family and took her in to provide care. After some time, we'll announce we've found a good household for her. What does a young girl know, anyway?"
Zhao Pulin retorted, "Our family won't commit such unscrupulous deeds. Didn't you hear Chunli mention that the family on the north slope has a son with a broken leg? Luo Qiao is just a child. What will people think of us if they find out?"
Gao Suhua pouted and said, "By then we just won't tell the villagers."
Zhao Pulin, somewhat angry, replied, "The north slope team isn't far from us; do you think the villagers are fools?"
Having resolved to pay a visit to Lu Yichen's home at noon after getting off work, Gao Suhua did not believe that the young girl, upon hearing she would be taken back, could remain indifferent.
Meanwhile, having taken Zhao Guibao back to the city, the Luo Family couple went through household registration the next day and changed his name to Luo Bin.
Luo Tianming and his wife Feng Hui discussed sending Luo Bin back to school, but the boy refused, much to the frustration of the couple.
The Luo Family had not been back in Ji City for long since being rehabilitated from the farm. The family of five, along with Big Brother Luo Tiancheng's family of seven, lived in a government-reallocated courtyard with many people but few rooms.
Luo Bin had to share a room with his two cousins from his eldest uncle's family. The eldest cousin was unwilling to do so; the accommodations in the city were not as spacious as in the countryside, and he found that the children of the Luo Family did not seem to like him much.
If it weren't for the better food compared to Qingshan Village and the fact that Ji City was more lively than the village, he would have long caused a fuss to return to Qingshan Village.
As for Luo Qiao, she had not rested all morning. After sending off the team leader's wife, she locked the courtyard door and then went inside to make sure all doors and windows were secure before entering her space.
First, she found some seeds in the underground storage and planted a variety, a task that was not difficult for her as a Wood-Based Ability User. In her previous life, she often worked on land cultivation and rapid plant growth at the base.
Now that her special ability level was too weak, she had to earnestly plant in the space. After a whole morning, she had only managed to plant a little over half an acre—the weakness of her body was indeed troublesome.
Having planted everything that needed to be sown, Luo Qiao decided to wrap up and prepare some food to strengthen her body.
She took out some rice from the storage to cook in the kitchen, planning to make a pot of rich rice porridge, along with a dish of minced garlic eggplant and "Di San Xian" (a stir-fry of potatoes, eggplant, and bell peppers). Although there was plenty of cooking oil in the storage, her body couldn't handle too much greasiness at the moment.
She pickled some spicy cucumbers and sweet and sour radishes in two small porcelain bowls, to serve as a side dish to porridge or rice in the future.
Just as she finished preparing and was about to exit the space, she heard someone knocking at the main door. Luo Qiao quickly left the space and composed herself before walking into the courtyard and asking, "Who is it?"